Women's History Month: Local women lead the way in politics

Monday

Mar 17, 2014 at 7:00 AM

By Peg.McNichol

@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4269Women make up half the population but just a fraction of elected officials. Historically, women influenced Holland's politics behind the scenes, said Holland Museum archivist Catherine Jung, often in their role as a poltician's spouse.Holland resident and lawyer Shannon M. Garrett, a bi-partisan political consultant and chairwoman of Holland's human rights commission, would like to see more women on ballots for local to national offices, and she doesn't mind which party they choose to represent."I’d like to see half (candidates be women)," she said, "We're half the population."Put more women in office and watch as "partisan politics would fall away," she said, citing studies showing "women tend to work across party lines more. They tend to work up and down the hierarchy and give voice to greater populations of people."The good news, she said, is more women are in office as Michigan Rep. Amanda Price, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and, closer to home, Holland Councilwoman Nancy DeBoer, Zeeland councilwomen Sally Gruppen (also mayor pro tem) and Mary Beth Timmer; and Maggi Rivera, first Latina elected to Holland's school board, helping guide communities.Other women, like Holland native Betsy DeVos, former chairwoman of Michigan's Republican Party, and her mother, philanthropist Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, work at a national level to influence politics. Both have suported Right to Life locally and nationally. DeVos started her political career as a local precinct delegate and campaigned during her husband's 2006 gubernatorial run.Locally, Garrett said, there are plenty of opportunities for budding female politicos, and she's seeing younger women stepping up.That news thrills Holland resident Joyce Sherrell, 87. From the time she started working for Holland Hitch in 1946 and joined a union, to her jobs with GM, Beech-Nut and Life Savers, politics have been important to her. She was union board representative for, then president of Local 822 of the Retail Wholesale Department Store union. Though she lost a bid at a Park Township seat, she did force an ordinance change."Oh my goodness gracious, Park Township wouldn’t let us have political signs," she said. "My brother Frank Boersema didn't come back from World War II, he died for my freedom of speech," she added.She marched with Betty Ford to support the Equal Rights Amendment. Women, Sherrell said, "need to be equal and not make 77 cents for every dollar a man does for doing the same job. We ought to have equal rights and equal respect in society."Getting there, Garrett said, means getting more women in public office."When you have a group of people who look the same, have the same experiences, they are going to agree with each other more often, without seeing unintended consequences," she said. "But if you have people with diverse voices and backgrounds, you’ll see these issues raised and you'll find better solutions."— Follow this reporter on Facebook and Twitter, @SentinelPeg.